The 38th Parallel Port

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The 38th Parallel Port

SILICON OUTPOSTS

The roll call of technology meccas worldwide continues to grow, but the latest would-be outpost is perhaps the most unusual yet: the Kumgang Valley in North Korea. With rapidly warming relations between the reclusive communist country and the capitalist world, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is encouraging foreign investors to help realize his goal of creating a Silicon Valley-style power hub just north of the 38th parallel. Hyundai, the South Korean conglomerate, has already broken ground on an ambitious R&D complex near the Kumgang Mountains, an area that the company has developed for tourism.

But a tech center in North Korea faces formidable obstacles. Private phone lines don't exist, and government officials pay $6 or more per minute to access the Net via foreign ISPs. Even North Korea's official news organ, the Korea Central News Agency (www.kcna.co.jp), is hosted by Korea News Service in Tokyo. But the country offers foreign tech companies one attractive feature: a cheap and highly disciplined workforce.